No I'm not dead, its just High School

Busy is an understatement to my last few weeks at Harborside and searching the job market. I have dropped off a resume and cover letter at about every school in Kenosha Unified and have had two interviews so far and hoping for some more.

I just got back from a 3 day camping trip with too many freshman and I am pooped (not to mention very, very smelly). This camp trip was part of the expeditionary learning style that Harborside adopted in its charter. It gives students an opportunity to participate in intensives which are activities they do to earn credit. They have intensives like sports and games, cooking, forestry and painting. There is also a section of intensives where students have an opportunity to recover credit from classes failed earlier in the year. Since a D at Harborside is considered failing there was a large group for academic intensives. I was in charge of doing the math and biology academic intensives which was very frustrating and a lot of work.

Some students do not appreciate the opportunity they have to recover credit and are not on track to pass the intensive. These go till the end of school and it looks like it is going to be a long week.

Back to this camping trip and a few stories. I was asked to stay in the cabin and chaperon those who did not want to sleep outside in tents. So you can imagine these students did not want to be outdoors for very long. When it was time to go to bed I asked some student to share some scary stories and the response I got was great. One student made up a story about a troll living under the cabin we were sleeping in. Another about some campers who were murdered by some camp counselors and the last student recited to first 20 minutes of the Spongebob Square Pants movie word for word. This is the same student who knows every plot about every Ernst movie which entertained me very much.

It is sad to think in two weeks I wont be with my kids at Harborside anymore but at the same time it will be a relief to be done with student teaching and be licensed in teaching. The job search is the next order of business and am hoping that goes smoothly.

Busy Week, IEPs and Pen Pals

Well I made it through my first week of high school. It was fun and I really enjoy this school and the staff I work with. Somethings that are different from first grade:

• I am not the tallest person in the building or the only one with facial hair
• Ear bud head phones will cause this generation to go deaf, I think these kids were born like the picture left.
• Long hair for guys is very popular (thought I saw 2 girls kiss in the hallway)
• They are not motivated by stickers or high fives but food and "jean days"

Being a special ed teacher with a case load of about 17 students I have a lot of meetings to attend. 6 in my first week and already 4 scheduled for this week. Mostly they are IEP re-evaluations and I have to do a lot to prepare the student and the agenda for the meeting.

Harborside Academy is an all inclusive school so every student I have on my case load is in a regular class. This can be difficult for them because they need differentiated instruction that the teacher does not always offer, that is where my job comes in. I am in the room to help explain or present something to a student in a way they can understand. I have always been good at this and it seems to come natural to me. I have also had the chance to collaborate with different teachers about me planning and teaching lessons which I am really excited about. Mr. Mengel a teacher who went to Carthage and I are preparing some World history lessons on the Holocaust. It it great to work with him because he is a 2nd year teacher and really fun, he also knows a boat load on the subject because he went on a J-term trip to Germany with a focus on the Holocaust. I teach my first high school lesson on Wednesday about a German children's book that was very derogatory towards the Jews.

Mrs. Underwood the English teacher I work with was selected for jury duty so the periods I am in that class I will be in charge. The first few days we are finalizing Renaissance art papers. The students are also working on sophomore passage which is like a half-way point evaluation in high school. The student must pass in order to move onto 11th grade at Harborside.

I have been emailing back and forth with room 105 (my first graders), we have become pen pals. It is great to hear from them and I miss them a lot. Its hard to write G rated stories about high schoolers for the student but I find some fun things to share with them. I will have to prepare a mid-week recap of some of the funny and appropriate stories from high school. If you want the inappropriate ones you have my number. Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Harborside Day 1!

Well I knew high school was going to be different than first grade and I think my first introduction says it all. When the teacher introduced me to the class the response from one single student was "What's popping homie?!"Totally different than my reception in 1st grade. I had a great first day though, might have been from the kids being just back from spring break but I'm hoping not.

Since this is my special education placement I do not have a class I have a case load. My load is 14 some need more help than others but all 14 are eligible for my one-on-one service. While I am in the classroom I am a support teacher which I really enjoy and the teachers I work with are great. We talked about opportunities for my to write lessons which sounds great except for Chemistry which wasn't my best subject. Harborside is a Charter school and does some great work which I'm sure you will read about in later posts. This first day had some great highlights and I'm sure your waiting to hear about them.

I was in Mr. Mengal's class during prep-period and listening to his students share about their spring break stories. These give my first grade stories a run for their money! The first student shared that they were a the Dollar Tree and saw a woman dressed as a chicken. Apparently she was buying all the plastic eggs in the store claiming they were her babies. Believability of this story is skeptical but I still laughed. The next girl couldn't tell her story because she had her hand over her mouth and had been doing that all morning, but her friend next to her was quick to tell the story. I guess for some reason beyond me this girl and her friends decided to mess around with duct tape. After placing some over her mouth and having a friend rip it off she was covering up a scar from losing a layer of skin off her top lip. OUCH!

I remember being silly as a 10th grader but that was even out of my league (OK for those who really know me 'maybe not'). Mrs. Lewis is my cooperating teacher and she is a great lady who all her kids love. I am very excited to be learning from her she seems to really reach the kids and thats exactly what I want to be able to do. Overall it was a great first day and I'm excited for more.

Final Days of First Grade :(

I knew this day would come and I wasn't looking forward to it. My last day of first grade was also April Fool's Day so I was hoping someone would pop in and say "April Fools! You're here till June!" but that didn't happen. I really enjoyed my time in room 105 and it was a great learning experience and really did what student teaching is suppose to do, make me a better teacher. I had some great memories from this and if you wanna read about them just scroll down. The last week of student teaching I took a break from planning and teaching and did some observing around the building.

I observed a 4th grade classroom where Mr. Wolf taught and it was very cool to see a male teacher at work (something you don't see in a lot of elementary settings). I really enjoyed my time in the EDBD room with Mrs. Holm see is a great lady and cares a lot about the students but the boys that are in there don't respect her. When I walked in the room I could tell the had respect for me and when I got working with them they were very attentive. It is great to see this kind of change and was fun to help them learn. Sadly the student I was making progress with on Monday wasn't there Tuesday because he was suspended for fighting after Gym Class. I know it would be hard and a lot of work but I would love to have classroom like Mrs. Holm one day to see if what I have learned at Carthage and in my experiences can help these students.

On the last full day of class the first graders surprised me by bringing their lunches back from the lunch room so we could have a "picnic" lunch together (the weather was great!). And after lunch before we went out for recess each student had made a card for me which was very sweet.

The next day was a half day and April Fool's day. The principal started it off by saying "The district called and we have to take standardized tests today so instead of a half day we are staying for a full day..." April Fool's pranks that early are not funny because all the kids thought she was serious. I thought it was pretty good, but if you want to hear a good April Fools prank ask my mother about my tattoo.

After the student's left (some didn't want to leave and some with tears in their eyes) the teachers went out to lunch. Since it was such a gorgeous day Ms. Wrobel's boyfriend picked her up on his motorcycle and they went for a ride. We sat outside at a little diner and enjoyed the good weather. When we went back to school I helped Ms. Wrobel finish 3rd quarter report cards and clean up some St. Patty's Day decorations. She had a gift basket for me with some teacher books and tools in it and my favorite a Michael Jordan kids book. She gave me this because when I brought up Michael Jordan one day in class the students (being born in 2003, mostly) had no idea who I was talking about. Someone started to say Lebron... and I stopped them mid word. Growing up in Chicago in the 90s Jordan and the Bulls were like air and oxygen to me. That was very nice of her to remember that and give me a book on him. We have agreed to stay in touch and I will try to write a weekly email to the 1st graders in room 105 telling them about my high school experience. Thanks to all who read my 1st grade experience on this blog even my D.G. Uncle Bobby out in California who printed out this tome. I hope you all will follow as I start my High School experience on April 12th.

Parents Visit Room 105: Shear Madness!

So my situation was I needed a ride home so I could got to the water polo tournament at Wheaton College and drive a team van home. I called my mom to ask if she could pick me up on Friday and invited her to visit room 105 before I was done student teaching at McKinley. I had planned a lesson at the end of the day ("crazy time" I call it) where my mom could help the kids cut their grass and measure it.When my mom showed up on Friday right after my lunch time I was surprised she had brought my dad too! So we had another Mr. Bax and now a Mrs. Bax in the classroom, the kids were going to be confused.

I went and got my kids from gym class then took them back to room 105 to meet my mom and dad where my mom had pencils for all the students which they loved but immediately asked me to sharpen. The kids then have recess after gym so we headed outside since it was so nice out. After some kickball drama (daily occurrence) and watching Mrs. Bax try to hula hoop (one in a lifetime occurrence) we headed inside to start the lesson. Anytime a teacher visualizes a lesson it almost never goes in that direction but is not usually far off, this time it was WAY off. I have said it before but getting kids to settle down after gym AND recess is like trying to un-toast bread.

This plant lesson involved cutting down the grass the kids have been growing and journaling about our plants growth so far. When the students were done journaling I picked quiet students to go over and see mom and dad where they helped the students trim their plants. We went over how to walk with scissor before in the class and the kids did a good job. I also mentioned to keep them out of their mouths (for those who have read before you know what I'm talking about). One of my girls decided my parents being there meant she had to be the trouble child for the day. After moving her desk against the wall and getting a journal thrown at me the threat of calling her dad got her following directions real quick. This is a girl whose mom said "That is not my favorite child!" at parent teacher conferences. While I was dealing with this the kids did a good job of working on their journals and cutting their grass. I guess in my directions with scissors I forgot to mention another thing not to do: don't cut your hair! One of my students decided this was a good time to give his bangs a trim. I heard a student say he did it and when I looked over his face said it all, guilty. I asked him if he had cut his hair and when he shook his head "no" a few clipping of hair fell out of his head. I decided the goofy look he gave himself was punishment enough and I think he learned his lesson.

This was on the other side of the room from where my parents were and since I took a nap on the ride home I forgot to tell them this. I decided it would be a good story for them to read in the blog. They are both sleeping after a fun Easter yesterday so when they wake up I'll let them know there is a new post. Post about my last day at McKinley coming up sometime this week.

Bad Days

No I didn't have a bad day today but that was the theme for my journal. The kids had to tell me about a bad day they had or what a bad day would be like. Here are some of the bad days the kiddos shared, enjoy:

• "When you hit someone and then they throw up on your desk..."
• One kid to another "Your bad day was when you threw up corndog on the carpet..."
• To me "I had a bad day when you got me out in kickball" (got him out again today!)
• "I threw up then I wasn't feeling good and I threw up 2 more times, that was a bad day..."
• "My kindergarten teacher accidentally gave me a cookie with walnuts in it and I'm allergic..."
• From a twin "My sister didn't go to school and I didn't get to stay home and play all day..."
• From Mrs. Wrobel "When I found out I had Swine Flu!"
• "I got a bloody nose and then sneezed blood"
• "It was my dad's birthday so we couldn't go to the YMCA"
• "I drank a big orange drink too fast and threw up orange all over my dad's Mercedes"

I wish I could show you some of the pictures these kids drew, especially the ones where they threw up. Apparently puking equals a bad day I just thought it meant it was a good night. Story of Parents visit to come later on, promise!

WWE vs WWF

After seeing all of the WWE shirts in my classes and getting the John Cena "Can't see me" gesture done to me I would like to take a moment to reflect on my days as a WWF fan and see what has stayed the same and what is different. (sorry moms that read this but my old friends will love this nerdy post)

Thinking back to my days with WWF Monday night RAW I would come home from CCD just to catch Stone Cold Steve Austin slamming 2 beers and showing 2 select fingers to the crowd on his way to the ring. DX was doing some suggestive gestures and steroids were as common as they are in major league baseball. Professional Wrestling back then to me was real and to these kids it is too. I don't know exactly when it was I realized Booker T and Hulk Hogan were just really good actors but these kids feel the same way I did when I was a kid and I love it.

The WWF is now the WWE after losing a battle to the World Wildlife Federation, ouch! But it seems to be the same production a little less tame and a little more Hollywood. Here is a list of fun stuff I used to love on WWF

1. NWO and NWO Wolfpack
2. Goldberg's Winning Streak (WCW)
3. The intro songs
4. People's Elbow
5. People's Eyebrow
6. Mankind/Cactus Jack/Dude Love
7. Cage Matches/Ladder Matches/Coffin Matches/any ridiculous matches they had
8. The amazing story lines and plots
9. Kane and Undertaker's brotherhood
10. D GENERATION X!!!

Thanks for letting me vent. I hope for fans this was entertaining. Story on my parents visiting the class coming soon.

T-minus 1 week till High School

With one week till I venture off to Harborside High School I have been appreciating my time with these little kiddos. The students are on a token system and if they earn 16 they get a special treat. Usually a movie and a treat or lunch with the teacher. This time it was Root Beer Floats (one of my favorites!). I decided to pair this with a Reading Rainbow video on Milk Making. This RR video featured the great acting skills of LeVar Burton in a Canadian Tuxedo using words like "udder" and "teet" I know I'm 23 years old but something about the word "teet" will always make me laugh.

This milk video was inspired by a social studies lesson I was teaching about resources. We talked about farms and the resources of Wisconsin, when I got to cows a student decided to exclaim "Cows pee milk!" I couldn't control my laughter and he didn't make it any better by pointing to his 'you know where'. When I tried to explain udders to them they decided that meant milk came from a cow's guts. I love how 1st graders think things work. So I found the video in the library and it became another part of our Root Beer Float day! Finally the students understood that cows do not pee milk and that cows are not boys with the appropriate parts to pee milk out. Great lesson taught in 1st grade!

Kids write the darnedest things!

Quick story this morning before I head off to school. Hard to believe I only have a week left with the little kids. There are some pros and cons to 1st grade some of the things I will not miss about first grade are: tying shoes, zipping coats, blowing noses being asked to spell every word ever written and flipping kids cards (makes me sad). Some of the things I will miss are: hugs, artwork from the kids to me, the funny comments they produce, the way the don't see each other as black and white but just as friends (the world could learn a lot from first grade), and the miss spellings that produce stories like this:

Every day we do some kind of writing exercise either in a journal or a worksheet to help the students become better writers. I found these worksheets where you need to use the word the correct way. Example, using 'for and four', or 'deer and dear' the correct way. When they are done filling in the provided sentences I have them write some of their own. I was walking around and reading some of them over their shoulder when I noticed one girl's sentence said "I love beer and school!" I immediately thought "I must be a bad influence on these kids" then I realized she had flipped her "d" to a "b" a common first grade mistake which made the sentence not only hilarious but gave me a good laugh.

Hope you all have a great Friday and weekend. My friend Derek has been winning tickets off the radio/internet and this weekend I think I get to meet and greet Alice in Chains and watch the concert from backstage. Living the life!

Epic Monday

After a frustrating week today was a great way to start off a new week. All my lessons (well prepared) went well and the afternoon was just nuts! In a good/gross way. We have outdoor recess and I am all-time pitcher (to avoid complaints) I got one kicked straight back at me by Raul. This kid is gonna be a soccer star and almost smoked me in the soft tissue region but I blocked it with my knee and made a diving catch to get him out. He later told me "I didn't like that I was out but your catch was cool" Had a kid balling later because he was out at second. Ms Wrobel wasn't outside for recess and when I returned with Brady hugging my leg and crying she asked "What is the matter?" I responded "Out at second" and we had a good laugh.

Getting the kids settled down after recess is like trying to un-toast bread. But today it got quiet really fast when the mini-corn dogs from lunch made a reappearance courtesy of Maxamus! Ms Wrobel was in the back room and came out after I yelled "Ms Wrobel! Clean up aisle green!" (referring to the green square he re-decorated). Worst part was the janitor for the day was a sub and he came in with a terrified look on his face. Science lesson was a bust thanks to the clean-up effort in aisle green. Haha. Hoping for an eventful week!

Ms. Wrobel and I are decorating the room for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow night and let's just say Mr. Leprechaun is going to make an appearance!

Observed lesson nightmare

I don't know what it is about first graders but when someone new enters the room they think they are on stage or something. I had my last observed lesson in my first grade placement today (I think) and my kids were terrible! Well just the ones that normally are, I will leave out names but if you have talked to me in person you know who they are. Mr. Fillipeli who is my supervisor came in yesterday to observe a math lesson I had prepared on telling time. He showed up on time but in 1st grade we are never on time, it was snack time when he got their and I felt bad for him and not because he didn't have a snack. Snack time turned into ask Mr. Fillipeli questions time and here are some of the ones I overheard:

• How old are you?
• How long have you had a mustache?
• Are you married? I'm married to Allison...
• Are you Mr. Bax's Dad?

Poor guy, I don't think he has had much experience with 1st grade kiddos. When he saw the behavior issues I was dealing with let me know I have a gift of patience. Which must have been true that day because I had kids doing everything imaginable to be disruptive and try and get Mr. Fillipeli's attention. Everyone asked "Can I go to the bathroom?" even though they just had the opportunity during snack time. I had two girls copying each others movements and giggling to try and get attention. 1st graders have a hard time sitting on there doop-a-roo (as Mrs. Schmidt calls it) and today was extra hard, at one point I had a girl standing on her chair. She flipped her card to yellow and seemed to do a better job. Mr. Fillipeli had to leave early so we didn't get to talk much after my lesson but Ms. Wrobel and I talked about it and discussed how distracting new people in the room can be to the students.

Its hard to believe I am almost done with first grade and off to high school. The students have been discussing which one I will like better and here are some of their thoughts.

• They don't have snack time in high school
• High School kids are crazy! I see it on TV
• They don't sing songs in High School
• High School kids are big like Mr. Bax
• They don't read Junie B. Jones books in high school

I will have to say I will miss those things but most of all I will miss the things some of those kids say. I am compiling a list of great quotes from room 105 and I will be sure to post it soon. 3rd period of the Blackhawks game is about to start lets hope we see some goals.

Read Across America/Dr. Seuss Week

This week we have a short week due to Parent-Teacher confrences and it is also a special week due to Read Across America! In the wake of the Seussathon at Carthage College this weeks theme was Dr. Seuss. We did some fun activities during reading and math with Suessical themed stuff but the assembly was the highlight of my day. The custodian/mechanic/hero of the school Mr. Kevin dresses up like the Cat in the Hat and just does crazy stuff in front of a packed gym. These crazy activities included:

• Squirting the students and staff with a water gun
• Pitching snowballs to Mr. Wolf to splatter into the crowd
• Hitting tomatoes and red peppers off a T-ball tee
• A bouncy ball relay involving eggs
• Juggling water balloons and failing miserably
• Trying to walk on a tight rope between 2 chairs (with no success)
• Oh and scaring the bejesus (spell check?) out of Catera my little first grader

Right when Mr. Kevin/The Cat started his shenanigans all the kids went NUTS! It was very loud and very chaotic and next thing you know I feel something grab my leg like it was a life jacket on the Titanic. It was Catera and she was BALLING! Full out screaming, sobbing, "I wanna go home!" crying. I was laughing hysterically at this Cat in the Hat meets Freddy Kruger costume and didn't take it seriously right away. She is usually hanging on me but when I realized the extent of her fear I walked her out of the gym and back to the room to sit with Ms. Wrobel. Funniest part was we had to walk PAST the Cat to get out and when he saw me walking with her he didn't hesitate to wave at her, which caused her to almost break 4 of my fingers she was clutching onto. She stayed in the room and helped Ms. Wrobel get the Green Eggs and Ham ready. I remember staying at my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mike's once and Aunt Kathy had green eggs ready for us in the morning. It was a great surprise and most of the kids loved green eggs and ham. Other said "I do not like them Mr. Bax I am.." just kidding but it does sound cool. Well the Blackhawks are starting so I am gonna fix some dinner and watch.

Scissor Story

So in my recent absence of posts I will share some of my short funny stories I have. Here is a good one:

One of the smartest kids in my class Brady was fiddling through his art box one day and grabbed his scissors. We didn't need scissors and where he sits he is not in my direct line of sight for some reason beyond me he placed the scissors in his mouth. I got a quick glance and all I saw were scissors in his mouth and wide eyes. I gasped and made a horrified face and managed to say in a calm strict tone "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?". The scissors flew out of his mouth and the tears began to roll. I had literally thought he had cut his tongue or something but instead it was my expression that made him cry and I heard the words "I'm sorry! I will never do that again Mr. Bax" about 10 times before the end of the day.

Check back in tomorrow for a hilarious Cat in the Hat story

Busy Busy Busy

Well I knew student teaching would be busy but combine that with coaching and you have real life. It has taken me a while to get into a routine but I am getting used to it and I love it. First grade never ceases to surprise me the other day I confiscated a chap stick that was being passed around the playground and someone decided it was a good idea to give my kids pixie stix on Friday. They were bouncing off the walls except for Raul who just had dental surgery and cant have sugar (poor kid).

I have taken over teaching everything and it gets a little hectic with planning. Making sure you plan more than enough gets hard but I have been learning to utilize songs and fun activities to pass the "down time". We have been doing a plant unit in science and the kids really enjoy growing plants in cups. With math we have been working with pattern blocks and mental math. My goal is to get my kids to do their addition facts 1-10 without using their fingers to count. Some kids are very good at it and others struggle and rely on their fingers for even 3+2. We do fun activities with a projector and white boards that they enjoy. I have learned to use the "freeze" button on the projector which gives the math lesson a magical feel, although some kids peek and ruin it for the rest.

Math and Reading are really being drilled in Wisconsin schools after NCLB was in place so we spend about and hour and a half a day on both. To get some more math practice the school did a Math Olympics to go along with the winter games in Vancouver. Everyday we did some math test for fun and if the students missed zero they got a gold medal for the day, 1-3 silver medal and 4-6 bronze. Our class did really well and earned a lot of medals I was very proud of this because it was the week after I took over teaching math.

I cant believe it is already March! I have so many stories I have to post and hopefully I can categorize them and post them later this week because they are worth sharing! Trying to make spring break plans since mine doesn't start till April 1st and Carthage's is next week. (Not much of a spring break with still 6 inches of snow on the ground)

Snow Day and Earthquake experiences

Well Monday came and went and then the forecast called for snow, LOTS of snow. Not as much as DC but people were preparing. I went to Piggly Wiggly at 9pm and people were stocking up on bread and milk. One couple decided Pepsi and Fiber cereal was the way to go...weird. Tuesday morning I woke up at 5:45am like normal and checked the Milwaukee news and read Kenosha Unified #1 closed...I was back asleep by 5:50am. Woke up and set out to make the day productive, updated the resume and filled out some applications. I know I cant turn them in until May-ish but better to do them now. Wish it was a snow day like I used to have 10 years ago, sledding with B-crew and sipping hot chocolate while playing N64. I wont lie I did get some Super Mario Brothers in on the Wii with Jay.

Apparently all this snow caused and earthquake in Dekalb (I know thats not the real reason). After talking to my friends in Dekalb and hearing they felt little or nothing from this earthquake I didn't expect anyone in Kenosha to feel it, but my first graders did! Here are some of the priceless comments following our talk about the earthquake:

• "I felt my window shaking"
• "I woke up on the other side of the bed so I must have felt it"
• "Do earthquakes only happen after snow days?"
  
• "Can you let me know when the next one is so I can try and feel it?"

Wednesday was a half-day and inservice training for the teachers. I attended the meeting and it was fun to be part of that for the first time. We talked about differentiation in education which was something I was always taught at Carthage so I wasn't lost during it. Today was a LONG day since Tuesday was a day off and Wednesday a half day. I have started preparing and teaching lessons dealing with Social Studies and Science . First graders go NUTS for volcanoes so that is a lot of fun. On Monday we are starting a plant unit in science where we actually get to grow plants. Everything is set up just waiting to start Monday so we can monitor them for a week. These weeks are going by fast, normally at this time I am tapering for swimming and it feels like and eternity. I am getting used to the change of pace and looking forward to being in charge of the whole day with the students.

I met my supervisor on Monday his name is David Filipelli and seemed like a very nice man. Reminds me of my grandpa Bax but with a mustache. He is coming to observe me sometime next week. Ill end this post with a video Mama Mertes sent me and I fell in love with.

What I make...

Days Student Teaching: I knew I would lose track after a week...

Wahoo Wednesday!!

Wednesdays in Kenosha Unified are early release so the students get a break and the teachers get some prep-time. Today was a busy day we had a Paleontologist come from University of Chicago to talk to the school about Dinosaurs. He was actually from Naperville (small world) and worked with one of the teachers at Carthage College so that is how he came to be at McKinley giving a talk. It was very interesting but ran a little long (into snack time!) which made the kids all antsy.

Wahoo Wednesdays are to reward students for good behavior during the week. If the student does not flip their card to RED during the week they are allowed to participate in a fun activity at the end of the day. If the student does flip to RED they are placed in the "stay back" room and have to catch up on homework while the others have fun. Ms. Wrobel's class made Groundhog puppets in honor of Groundhog day yesterday. Kids are dismissed early (1:45) and the teacher stay around to prep. I prepared a lesson I am going to teach on landforms Friday. This will be my first time formally teaching, my role so far has been that of a support teacher where I help students 1-on-1, very excited to teach to the whole class.

If you want to participate Adrian informed me today he will be celebrating HULK -Day tomorrow February 4th. Make sure to wear green and sport the HULK Hands (if you are lucky enough to have some)

I'll leave you with my stats so far for student teaching:

Shoes tied: Average 6 a day

Hugs received: Average 10 a day

Times asked students to "cover your mouth": Average 4 per hour

Pencils sharpened: Average 5 a day

Offered part of students snack: Average 16 a day (16 students in class)

Smiles received and given: countless :-)

Days Student Teaching: 3

First Day :-)

Well it came and went and now I'm relaxing after a long and fun day of student teaching. Going to bed last night was like Christmas Eve when your 8, played a few video games and finally got tired around 11. Woke up at 6am, hopped in the shower and got dressed. Ate my leftovers from Sunday's breakfast, made some coffee and watched the Channel 9 news. Headed out the door at about 7:25 (when I used to start High School) and arrived at 7:35. Writing this reminds me of a great scene from Home Alone that includes this quote:

"I took a shower washing every body part with actual soap; including all my major crevices; including in between my toes and in my belly button which I never did before but sort of enjoyed. I washed my hair with adult formula shampoo and used cream rinse for that just-washed shine. I can't seem to find my toothbrush, so I'll pick one up when I go out today. Other than that, I'm in good shape."

Kevin then proceeds to slap aftershave on and scream. Sorry folks no after shave this morning, trimmed the mustache and beard a little but keeping it till conference.

Ms. Wrobel had a binder for me and a lesson plan book. The binder contained an average day in room 105 and some of the rules and exercises they do. It also had a list of the students along with her hand written "guide" to that student. My day started out walking on the playground to get the students that line up by class. From about 50 yards away I started hearing kids from our class yelling "Mr. Bax!" and put a HUGE smile on my face. Great start to the day. The morning goes by really fast in room 105 and we have lots to do:

• Morning Meeting (calender, housekeeping stuff)
• Reading (classes are shuffled based on achievement level)
• SNACK! (Had a chex mix bar, chocolate) I was also offered some part of every students snack but let them eat it all
• Math and Math Intervention (classes switch and different teachers teach different parts of math)
• Little bit of free time/housekeeping then LUNCH
• Library Time (Where all my Battle of the Books fans work, haha)
• Collaboration Meeting with other 1st grade teachers
• Recess (inside today)
• Centers/Testing (Quarter 2 grades are due the 8th)
• HOME

Day ends at 2:40 for students and I stayed and helped Ms. Wrobel with after school tutoring for student who need the help. Left McKinley at 3:45 and went to coach swim practice at 4pm. After swimming I was in a great mood I went for a run and then swam. Gotta get in shape for the Warrior Dash (link below). Papa Murphys Pizza for dinner and an amazing episode of Chuck. Expecting to be REAL tired tomorrow morning so going to go to bed early. Goodnight followers, day 2 tomorrow will put up a new post later in the week to recap a few days. Day 1 was just too much fun to not post about.

Days student teaching: 1

Mr. Bax

Warrior Dash I am doing this summer

Be Prepared!

Student teaching is all about preparation and this last week or two I have been preparing in many different ways. On Sunday I met my parents at the Outlet Mall for some teacher clothes shopping. Note to all the youth out there, you DO NOT need 50 T-shirts! Eventually one day you will get a real job and have to wear dress shirts and dress pants everyday. This being said I am donating all but about 14 shirts to the Haiti relief effort at Carthage sponsored by Tau Sigma Chi (February 3rd 7pm in the TWC). Preparing for a full day of teaching is something I have only done a few times, usually I will go to the school for one or two hours then head home. This means preparing a lunch in the morning which I am not ashamed to say my wonderful mother did for me throughout my educational career. And when I brought lunch to high school it was Lunch #1 and Lunch #2 (one for after morning swim practice and one during the lunch period). Now that I am not training for swimming anymore I will only need to make one. I also need to prepare for not having as much free time as I have had this past month so lots of Wii and Xbox were played this week. I will end this post with 2 videos from 2 of my favorite kids movies both about being prepared. Vote for you favorite ones in the comments.

First Day: Feb 1st :-)

Always be prepared - Hoodwinked

Be prepared - Lion King

Meeting the Class

Today I went in for a couple of hours and met the students I will be working with for the 3rd quarter. I went to sign in at McKinley Elementary school and was immediately recognized by a teacher as "The best moderator at Battle of the Books" don't want to toot my own horn but me and Jay rocked B.O.B as moderators. As I put on my visitor pass featuring the McKinley mascot Jaguar Cub I headed down the hall to room 105, my classroom. I walked in the door a little nervous and a lot of excited, my nervousness went away when I heard a little girl say "I knew he would have a mustache!" after that I was all smiles. The class had written a daily journal announcing my arrival and had a great picture of me and Ms. Wrobel (I'll work on getting it to post on the blog). Ms. Wrobel is very nice and went to UW-Parkside and graduated in 2005. She is from Kenosha and had this same group last year when she taught Kindergarten. She student-taught at McKinley and this is her first time having a student teacher. We are both really excited to start our time together. Ms. Wrobel was giving the student name tags when I walked in so I could learn all their names. There are 16 students total (9 girls and 7 boys) in my class and my favorite name so far is Maximus cause it reminds me of the movie Gladiator and my Xbox Gamertag Baximusprime19. After the name tags were given out the students were allowed to ask questions here is a list of my favorites:

• From a little boy "How do you grow a mustache?" (first question no joke)
• "How much money do you have?"
• "Do you have a Wii?"
• "What grade are you in?"
• "How old are you?" Wanna feel old? tell first graders your 23, haha.
• "Will you stay for lunch?"
• "Can you sit by me?"
• "What was your favorite cartoon growing up?" Answered Tom and Jerry and told them I watch Phineas and Ferb today and they all cheered

After question time I stayed for Math lessons. We worked on greater than, less than and equal to. This involved using play-doh which if you haven't played with it in a while I highly recommend it just as much fun as when you were a kid. After the lesson the students got 2 minutes of free time with the play-doh where they all made me a play-doh pizza and I showed them how to make a snake, haha. We then played a game with base 10 blocks that involved rolling dice and after that it was time for Math Intervention. Math Intervention mixes the three 1st grade classes together based on skill level, Ms Wrobel has the intermediate kids and we worked with money during their lesson. I better get my singing voice in shape because first graders sing A LOT of songs, hopefully if I start them off they can continue without me ruining the sound. After Math it was my time to leave for the day, I got about 10 hugs and HAD to walk and hold hands with my new friend Catera when they went to lunch. I had a great time and cannot wait to spend 3rd quarter with these kiddos! Jimmy Johns and a Dr Pepper for lunch on the way home. Might have to keep the mustache for a while these kids loved it (sorry mom).

First day of Student Teaching: Feb 1st

Mr. Bax